surmise

American  

[ser-mahyz, ser-mahyz, sur-mahyz] / sərˈmaɪz, sərˈmaɪz, ˈsɜr maɪz /

verb (used with object)

surmised, surmising

1. to think or infer without certain or strong evidence; conjecture; guess.

   Synonyms:

   suspect, suppose, imagine

---

verb (used without object)

surmised, surmising

1. to conjecture or guess.

noun

1. a matter of conjecture.

2. an idea or thought of something as being possible or likely.

3. a conjecture or opinion.

surmise British  

verb

1. (when tr, may take a clause as object) to infer (something) from incomplete or uncertain evidence

---

noun

1. an idea inferred from inconclusive evidence

Related Words

See guess.

Other Word Forms

• surmisable adjective
• surmisedly adverb
• surmiser noun
• unsurmised adjective
• unsurmising adjective

Etymology

Origin of surmise

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English surmisen, from Anglo-French surmis(e), Middle French “accused,” past participle of surmettre “to accuse,” from Latin supermittere “to throw upon,” from super super- + mittere “to let go, send”

Example Sentences

Some may see a metaphorical significance in “Seven Pounds” being a December release, perhaps surmising that winter isn’t the star’s season.

From Salon

Su Tzu-yun, a military expert at Taipei's Institute for National Defense and Security Research, surmised Beijing might be trying to "weaken public support" for Taiwan's plans to increase its defence spending.

From Barron's

We don’t really know who Isidora was: We can surmise that she was, most likely, the wife of a man of means, of high but not regal status.

From The Wall Street Journal

Christmas storms had dumped 5 feet of snow and he surmised that’s when they got stuck — and hadn’t had anything to eat or drink in the weeks since.

From Los Angeles Times

"There's lots of good things about these platforms, but there's just too much bad stuff," he surmises.

From BBC

Related Words

• deduce
• hypothesize
• infer
• opine
• presume
• pretend
• speculate
• theorize